The Centre will soon introduce a national mineral exploration policy which will promote private investment in the sector other than boosting exploration, Union Minister of Mines Narendra Singh Tomar said today.
Speaking at the inaugural session of a national meeting of mines ministers here, Tomar said the Cabinet note is ready and the government will introduce the policy soon.
He said private investment will be promoted in mineral exploration which will be done in a time-bound manner.
The minister also asked the state governments to now focus on exploration.
He called for a balance between mining and environment, saying "environment should be protected and exploration should also be enhanced".
Mines is the second biggest sector after agriculture and contributes 2.4 per cent in GDP.
"It creates huge job opportunities and if the sector is promoted, there would be ample job opportunities and GDP will grow," he added.
The minister asked the states to focus on creating District Mineral Foundation to improve economic status and empower communities living near mining areas.
"DMF would spend money for the development of the local area, welfare of the local populace residing in the areas. Mine owners are seen as villains by people who live in the area and the role of DMF would be important in changing their perspective by enhancing their life standard," the minister stressed.
The minister said the government amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act and abolished discretionary powers of the Centre and the states.
Now, mines are auctioned which has "not only made process transparent but also increased the revenue".
Mines ministers from nine states of Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland, and officials from other states were present.
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Tomar said that the investment by private sector would be promoted in the mineral exploration sector and the work of exploration would be done in a time-bound manner.
"Mineral exploration initiatives can be owned by state governments as more exploration can lead to more mining, which can result in employment generation and economic growth," he said, while suggesting the states to use space technology for the same.
He said that his Ministry has signed an MoU with ISRO for use of space technologies in mining sector. "The states must also take advantage of this opportunity."
In the inaugural session of the second such meeting, the Minister said that the states should make efforts to ensure that mining leases, that were granted before MMDR Amendment Act came into force, get Forest and Environment clearances by January 2017 deadline to prevent lapsing of leases.
The union minister said that the states have received Rs 18,946 crore from auctions of mines.
"A growth of nine per cent has been registered in the mining sector. The sector has huge potential to create job opportunities and it should be promoted," he told reporters after the session.
Highlighting the aspects of the scheme of DMF, Tomar said that developmental and welfare activities will be run through the DMF which will help in changing the mindset of people living in the mining areas towards the mining activities.
In the opening session, Secretary of Mines, Government of India Balvender Kumar asked state government representatives to work on setting up District Mineral Foundations, considering star rating systems and formulating rules in respect of minor minerals in tune with major minerals.
He informed that National Mineral Exploration Policy is likely to be notified in next couple of months.
Mining Ministers from nine states of Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland and more than 60 senior level delegates from Ministry of Mines, 25 States and other government departments participated in the meeting.
The day long workshop had various sessions, addresses and interaction by Mining Ministers of States and technical session with senior officers of the States.
